Sympathy for the Devil
by Icka M. Chif
Summary: What you do when you discover Kid the Phantom Thief in your bathtub? (finished!)
1. A Bathtub to wash away the Pain (Aoko)

My apologies for those hoping for comedy...   
  
Sympathy for the Devil:  
  
A Bathtub to Wash Away the Pain.  
By Icka! M. Chif  
  
Muffled sounds from the bathroom and the feeling of something not being right woke Aoko from her slumber. Bleary eyed, she turned and checked the clock. It was only about 1 in the morning, too early for her father to be home yet. She waited, straining her ears for the slightest noise to clue her in on what was going on.  
  
The wind blew around the house, creating spooky sounds.  
  
She was about to roll over and dismiss it from her mind when she heard a noise from the bathtub again. The tub wasn't exactly old, but it wasn't new either and had a habit of making strange sounds when someone first got into it. Aoko frowned. Someone, or something -was- in her house.   
  
Putting on a scowling face, she grabbed the broom from the hall closet and crept towards the bathroom.   
  
At first, nothing appeared to be amiss. The room was dark, the sole illumination coming from the full moon playing hide and go seek with the rain filled clouds outside. The shadows shifted, and she could vaguely see someone silhouetted against the shower curtain.   
  
"Who's there?" She demanded, not really expecting an answer. For all she knew, it was some trick of the light.  
  
A soft voice spoke out from behind the curtain shower. "I apologise for the intrusion. It wasn't on purpose."  
  
Aoko froze. She knew that voice, it right on the tip of her tongue, familiar. Finding comfort and strength in the broom she carried, she angrily strode forward and pulled the shower curtain completely to one side.   
  
From the depths of the shadows, the Kaito Kid looked up at her, the monocle shining eerily at her like a deamon eye.  
  
"You!" She snapped. "Stay right there! I'm going to call my father!"  
  
He looked surprised to see her as well before he was distracted by a yawn. It not an exaggerated yawn as if the threat was boring, or like a good yawn right before bed, but a weary one, as if he didn't have the energy to do anything more than just draw the air in for a large breath. "And I'll be gone before you reach the phone." He gave her a small smile, ignoring his weak behaviour and she was struck by how old his visible blue eye looked in comparison to his youthful face. "So you may as well sit and join me for a while."   
  
She brushed the train of thought aside, increasing her grip on the broom handle. "I could knock you out, -then- call my father!" She threatened, holding up the broom.   
  
"You don't have the room to swing it hard enough." He pointed out tiredly.  
  
Aoko glanced around the small bathroom. He was right, she'd end up hitting one of the walls before she hit him. "Fine." She growled, sitting down on the closed toilet seat next to the bathtub, the broom propped up against one shoulder. "Just until my father comes. And I'm watching you, so no funny business!"   
  
He gave her a tired chuckle. "No funny business." He agreed.  
  
She snorted, not believing it, but stubbornly staying anyway. She was going to make sure he stayed put until her father got home to arrest him. The Kid yawned again, more like a sigh, his head drifting to one side as his eyes slid shut. Aoko stared at him, somewhat taken back by his actions. First he breaks into her bathroom, then -invites- her to sit with him, then had the audacity to fall asleep with her sitting here!!   
  
Aoko stifled a yawn, a faint part of her agreeing with his actions. It was late at night, when most sane people were in bed, asleep. Like she had been.   
  
She than began to wonder what was the appropriate etiquette for having a world famous thief fall asleep in your bathtub. They didn't quite cover this in class.  
  
"What are you doing in my bathtub anyway?" She finally asked, unable to stand the silence any longer.   
  
He twitched a bit, his one visible eye drifting open to look sleepily at her and once again she was distracted by the depth in it. It looked like he had just gone thru Hell and back and emerged with his soul and heart intact. The masks had been worn away, leaving a kindness shining thru surprised her. She'd never expect to find such a naked emotion in the thief's eyes.  
  
"I needed a place to rest." He answered simply.  
  
"Yes... but my house?!" She protested.  
  
Amusement coloured his tone. "Like I said, it wasn't on purpose. But where else would be safer?" He asked innocently.  
  
"Maybe with one of those screaming fan girls of yours-?" She retorted.  
  
"Ah, but they would be expecting something from me." He slowly reached out and playfully tapped the tip of her nose with a gloved finger. "Where are you expect nothing of me."  
  
She blinked in surprise at the unexpected contact, then shot one of her fiercest scowls at him. "I don't like you."  
  
He grinned. "I know. Not many people shout at me to go home while waving large 'Kid go home' signs."  
  
"Ah, oh..." She blushed. He recognised her? It was one thing to shout that at him while in the mass of a crowd, it was another to meet him face to face.   
  
The clouds breaking up enough for the moon to shine in the window and illuminating the room. For the first time she noticed the damage that the shadows hid. His monocle was broken, a few cracks marring it's smooth surface. His cape was damp, tattered and torn, wrapped around him like a loose blanket. His right arm was holding his other shoulder, the sleeve cut nearly up to his elbow. Under the protective embrace of his arm, his shirt and tie were undone, large bruises and small cuts colouring his skin.   
  
He noticed her scrutiny and shifted uncomfortably. "Are you... alright?" Aoko asked hesitantly. Sure, she didn't like the Kid, he was always stealing, which was wrong, and making her father run around in circles, which was even worse. But she also didn't like the idea of seeing him weak like this. He was supposed to be strong, and illusive. Not falling asleep in her bathtub like an over exhausted boy.  
  
The Kid gave her a half-felt grin. "Buildings aren't the softest things to run into. But a good nights sleep and I'll be as right as rain."  
  
She snorted, but didn't press the issue. They were supposed to be enemies after all. And she had the feeling that he would refuse any help she offered, just on general principal.   
  
"Hey." He shifted again, sitting up straighter and distracting her. "Did you know I'm planning my retirement from being a thief? What do you think... should I throw a party for your father and the rest of the cops as a thank you or should I just fade away?"  
  
"Huh?" She blinked, taken back. "You can't retire yet, Dad hasn't caught you!"  
  
"Hmm..." He appeared to mull the thought over. "I suppose I could let him catch me. Just for a little while anyway. I'd have to leave before they actually got me in jail."  
  
Aoko stared at the thief as if he were nuts. He was giving serious thought to it?! She shook her head, backtracking. "Wait... you're retiring?!"  
  
"Yup!" He nodded proudly, fairly sparkling with excitement despite his weariness. "Would you like to see why?"  
  
"Uh... sure..." Aoko was taken back yet again. Suddenly, the thief reminded her of Kaitou, when he had a new magic trick to show off.   
  
He stretched his right arm out, the gloved hand glowing in the light of the moon. He made a small flourish, and a rock the size of her fist appeared in the palm of his hand. She blinked. It wasn't an extraordinary pretty rock, it looked like some sort of agate, or maybe a jasper with it's patterned completion.   
  
The Kid smiled at her, catching her confusion. "Would you like to help me with a trick?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
He took her confusion for an affirmative. "Hold out your hand." He instructed. She automatically did so and he placed the rock into her hand. She had the strangest sense of Deja vu, it was the same sort of feeling she got when helping Kaitou with one of his tricks. Of course, that usually ended with her skirt getting flipped...   
  
The Kid didn't seem to be interested in flipping up her night gown or robe, so she numbly stayed where she was.   
  
He pulled out a white silk handkerchief and carefully covered both the rock and her hand with it. "On the count of 3." He instructed. "One... Two... Three!"  
  
The handkerchief was pulled off... and she held the rock in her hand.   
  
She blinked at it. It looked like the same stone. "I don't think it worked." She informed him.   
  
The grin on his face told her otherwise. He opened the handkerchief, a small blood red stone sparkling against the pure white background. With a sense of reverence, he set the handkerchief in his lap and picked up the stone. "Pretty, isn't it?" He murmured, the clouds covering the moon up once again and casting him into shadow. Her eyes adjusted this time, so she would still see him.  
  
She nodded, her eyes wide. He had pulled the stone out of the larger rock? "Very."  
  
He smiled wistfully. "They killed my father for it." The Kid murmured, looking like a very sad boy instead of the cocky thief she was used to. Once again, the change in images disturbed her.   
  
It made him human, instead of some faceless taunting thing that she could direct her anger at.   
  
"Your father?" She echoed.   
  
"Yeah." The glimpse of the boy behind the thief disappeared as the cheerfully smiling mask slid back over his features. "You didn't think I went into this voluntarily did you?"  
  
"I never gave much thought to it." Aoko admitted, setting the stone on the bathroom counter.  
  
"Good." He muffled a yawn. "You're not supposed to."  
  
She snorted, amused.   
  
"I hope you will forgive me if I don't give this back to your father." He said sincerely, carefully wrapping the blood red stone in the handkerchief again and making them both magically disappear. "But if you could give him back the original stone, I'd be most grateful."  
  
The statement caught her attention as odd. "Why would my forgiveness matter?" She asked. "Wouldn't it be better to ask the people you stole from for forgiveness?"  
  
The mask faded again, the sadness and kindness hidden behind his smile showing thru again. "Their trinkets and baubles got returned to them." He said slowly, leaning back against the bathtub again as his energetic fire dimmed. "But I stole your father from you. He should be with you... and he isn't."  
  
Aoko opened her mouth to protest...  
  
... and was surprised when a sob came out instead.  
  
"Nakamori-san?" The Kid leaned forward, his blue eyes concerned.  
  
She shook her head, trying to tell him it was okay and a rough squeak came out instead. Tears built up and fell down her cheeks as she tried to stop them. It began to rain again outside, the staccato noise of the raindrops providing a counterbalance to her tears.  
  
The Kid reached out and offered her a simple white cotton handkerchief. She hesitated, her hand barely brushing it. "It's alright." He said kindly. "I won't tell anyone."  
  
Aoko gave him a weak smile for that. Who was he going to tell?  
  
"Why you?" She rasped, finally finding her voice. "Of all the people to notice, why you?" The thief that she had hated for so long as the cause of her worries was the first and only one to notice. She was lonely. So lonely that it hurt to show it.  
  
For a moment, she made the mistake of looking into the Kid's eyes, and saw a mirror of her self there. It was gone in a flash and he gave her a weak shrug and an equally lame smile. "It's hard to hide it from someone who wears similar masks." He said simply. For some reason, this made her hiccup and giggle. Which turned into a laugh. She took the offered handkerchief and wiped her eyes as the tears kept flowing while she laughed.   
  
She laughed for several minutes, the confused look on the thief's face sending her into fresh peals of giggles every time she started to wind down. He finally just shook his head and leaned back in the tub with a weary sigh. His concerned gaze never left her however.   
  
The laughter finally wound down enough so that she could talk normally. "Thanks." She finally got out, attempting to hand his handkerchief back. He motioned for her to keep it. This almost started another bout of giggles when she realised that the plain cotton handkerchief was attached to several colourful silk scarves that were attached to one of his pockets.   
  
The Kid looked rather embarrassed by that and she was reminded once again of Kaitou. He attempted to disconnect just the handkerchief from the string of cloth and finally just ended up giving her a blue and a purple scarf as well. "Thank you." She said sincerely.   
  
He shook his head, looking too tired to move. "No, thank you."   
  
Aoko paused, considering something she never would have before. "Wait right here. I'll be back in a minute." She ordered, standing up. At his alarmed look, she shot him a slightly smug smile. "And don't worry, I'm not going to call for the police or my father."  
  
He didn't say anything, but remained tense, like he was prepared to spring out the window at the wrong motion, never mind the fact that he looked like he wouldn't even be able to stand upright.  
  
She smiled and dashed down the hall to her room, taking the broom with her. Aoko paused long enough to put the broom back in it's proper place before grabbing a throw pillow off of her bed and dashing back to the bathroom. The Kid looked at her warily as she came back in, but hadn't moved aside from mummifying himself more securely in his cape.  
  
"You're going to get a crink in your neck if you fall asleep here without a pillow." She scolded him, placing the pillow behind his head. He seemed surprised, but allowed her to fuss over him for a minute. "Dad won't be home for another couple of hours." She continued. "He likes to stay late at work after chasing you. You can stay here until he comes home."  
  
He nodded, looking mostly asleep already. "Won't you get in trouble? The pillow?" He asked.  
  
Aoko shrugged. "I can say that there was a roach in the tub."  
  
The Kid looked vaguely offended.   
  
She smiled, tapping his hat. "By the way, you should know that I forgive you."  
  
He paused, looking up at her, his eyes wide. "Honestly." She affirmed. "Just don't sneak into my bathroom again."  
  
The Kid chuckled, snagging her hand as she dropped it and pressed a chaste kiss on the back of it. "I promise not to sneak into your bathroom again." He agreed, winking at her as she blushed. "I'm retired now, remember."  
  
"I'm holding you to that." She growled, silently pleased. "Now get to sleep. Some of us have school in the morning."  
  
"Yes ma'am." He meekly agreed, closing his eyes. He appeared to fall asleep almost instantly, another similarity between him and Kaitou.  
  
She yawned and walked out of the room, taking the rock he had stolen with her. She put it on the dining room table for him to find and paused, looking at the phone. The Kaito Kid was sleep in her bathroom right now. It would be so easy to just pick up the phone and call the police to come pick him up.   
  
Aoko shook her head, walking past the phone and heading for bed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.   
  
She had school in the morning after all.   
  
Fin.  
  
Inspiration from this fic comes from 2 places:  
A piece of Japanese fan art I found on line of the Kid. It's raining, he's battered and obviously sore and there's just this looking of -pride- and just utter -defiance- in his face that just drew me in. It's like a glimpse of the person that lies beneath the happy smiling poker face mask. Found it an interesting contrast to the usual more glamorous pics of the Kid that can be found.  
  
-think that's why it's an Aoko POV, it's a small peek at the person behind the image.   
  
In the manga, Aoko seems to be lonely quite often. You never hear about her mother, Her father is always out hunting the Kid, and her best friend Kaitou is always off on his 'job'. There's several big parties that are thrown at her house, but the people who matter rarely seem to be there, and when the party is all over, she's alone in an empty house again.  
And yet for all that, she's still a highly passionate character.  
  
The other inspiration is from the Moby CD '18', especially the song 'The Great Escape'.   
  
"I'll use a lock that has no key   
Aren't you in chains that no one else can see   
Let the water creep over your face   
I'll send it in waves   
Just to watch you perform the great escape "  
  
-it doesn't make much sense to read it, you just kinda hafta hear it... 


	2. A Blanket for Protection and Warmth (Nak...

A Blanket for Protection and Warmth  
  
Inspector Nakamori was not a complete idiot. He never would have made it to the rank of 'Inspector' if he had been. But he knew he wasn't quite as good as, say Kudo Shin'ichi. So he relied on his other talents, stubbornness, purpose, integrity, to make up for it.  
  
But even he knew when he was being played for a sap.  
  
After having chased the illusive Kid for almost over 20 years now, ordinary criminals seemed... boring. They lacked the mental thrill of the chase, the plotting, the planning and the strategies. And of course, there was the cardinal rule of the Kid.  
  
No one gets hurt.  
  
With the Kid, it was like a game. There were certain rules and patterns it followed. The notes and warnings he sent out were a giant 'Tag! You're it!' sign. Then there was the plotting on how to stop him long enough to catch him. This, of course, never seemed to work, which led to the chase. The Kid would eventually disappear and the prize would somehow re-appear. Then he and his men would re-group, come up with new ways to catch him and wait for the next note. It was fun, in a strange way. But no one ever got hurt, except for thru their own stupidity. Even the property damage was always minimal.   
  
It was more dangerous to ticket cars than it was to try to catch the thief.   
  
They had been able to capture copy-cats, people who admired the Kid for his skills and wished to take some of that reputation for their own, because they ignored that cardinal rule.  
  
But lately, the game had been changing, becoming more dangerous. An element had been added, one that he hadn't seen since right before the Kid vanished the first time.   
  
A third party had made their presence known. And it wasn't a very welcome party.  
  
The Kid's playing had shifted to accommodate it. Where as in the past he would take his time to play with them, occasionally even taunt them or ask how their families were. Now the heists were in and out. Quick, efficient, and with the minimum amount of contact.   
  
The arrival of the occasional bullet striking the place where the Kid had been before set everyone on edge. Somewhere along the line, the Kid had picked up some very dangerous enemies. Ones who didn't just want him behind bars, but wanted him -dead-.  
  
As a policeman, this concerned him deeply. As the thief's primary opponent, this pissed him off. HE was the only one allowed to capture the Kid.  
  
His men had taken it upon themselves to attempt to get the 3rd party as well. Who ever they were, they were much much worse than the Kid was.   
  
Tonight's caper had brought everything to a head. The prize in question wasn't even worth all that much money, it had more historical value than monetary. And even then, it wasn't worth much. But a heist was a heist, and another chance to catch the Kid.  
  
The Kid had been in and out of the building before they were even aware that he was there. His laughter as he prepared to glide away had been the only thing that had alerted them to his presence. For a moment, it was almost like old times.   
  
Then they showed up on a nearby rooftop. There were shouts, something about 'warnings', giving them the stone and the Kid's father. He had just gotten to the roof when the sound of a bullet slicing thru the air echoed and the Kid dodged, taking to the air.   
  
His men split up, some to catch the Kid, others to stop the sniper. Predictably, the Kid vanished into the night sky. How it was possible to disappear into the darkness while wearing something -that- bright of a white was still a mystery. Although the bank of clouds covering the sky in preparation for rain might have had something to do with it.  
  
Pot shots were taken at some of his men. It was probably done to try and draw the Kid back, and it worked. Smoke bombs went off where the people had been hiding. His men, well trained in catching the thief, knew what that meant.  
  
Dog pile on the bandit.  
  
Surprisingly, it worked better on the gangsters than it did on the Kid. Except for one punk who took offence to being grabbed and pushed back.   
  
Knocking of his men over the edge of the building. The local buildings weren't the tallest in the city, but they were tall enough that someone would have a chance to wave good bye before splatting on the ground.   
  
Only the flying Kid interfered, diving down to grab the man in tenuous grip and manuvering them over a nearby smaller building. The Kid was obviously straining, the flight was erratic and Nakamori expected the glider to break at any second. For the first time, he had actually found himself cheering the Kid on.  
  
No one gets hurt.  
  
Except for this time.  
  
The Kid safely dropped the officer in time for a large gust of wind to catch the glider's sail. As they watched, the thief flipped and tumbled head over heels across the rooftop before crashing over the edge of the building and disappearing from sight.  
  
Normally, that would have been where the chase ended. However, this time the little voice in the back of his head suggested that he follow the thief. Most people would probably ignore the little voice in the back of their head and consider themselves crazy, but this was the same voice in the back of his head that let him know if someone was following him, or if something in a case didn't match up. He liked to think of it as his cops intuition. So he told his men to finish arresting the people they had caught and went to follow the thief.   
  
The Kid was still alive, but definitely injured. He found small pieces of glider on the sidewalk below the rooftop the thief had disappeared off of, and a few drops of a dark liquid that could have been either blood or oil. He would have bet on the former. Not even the Kid would walk away from a crash like that unscathed.   
  
A glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned in time to see the kid limp around the corner. With mixed caution and triumph, he had trailed the Kid to a local subway line, where the Kid got on a train.   
  
Fortunately for Nakamori, he recognised the train line. It was the same one he took when he went home via the train instead of by car. The Inspector attempted to get into the car, but ran out of time and ended up in the car behind. Both cars were virtually empty, it being late at night. He crouched down and tried to pretend to be invisible, all the while watching his opponent.   
  
The Phantom Thief struck him as being very old, for some reason. He moved like an old man, someone who was older than their years. Not at all like the usual cocky appearance that he usually had. Nakamori supposed that being dropped off a large building would do that to someone.   
  
The train ride wasn't all that long, and the Kid appeared to fall asleep. The Inspector took the opportunity to sneak forward and try to open the door that separated the 2 cars. The Kid's damnable luck held, and the door was stubbornly stuck. It was infuriating to be so close to capturing his objective, and yet so far.  
  
They came to a familiar stop, and the Kid rose, walking out of the car. Nakamori quickly followed, and attempted to grab him before he could leave the terminal. Once again, the thief had the greatest luck. A horde of drunk merry makers got in his way, preventing him from getting close to the Kid.   
  
He finally got out of the terminal just in time to see a flash of white disappear around the corner. Feeling like something out of 'Alice in Wonderland', he gave chase. Only discover what he had seen was a stray cat, going for it's nightly walk.   
  
Resisting the urge to growl or punt the cat into lower earth orbit, he turned around, looking for any sign of the Kid.  
  
On a stray bit of luck, this time in his favour, he spot the Kid making his way down the street, several blocks over. The phantom thief turned a corner, disappearing again.   
  
Nakamori gave a sharp cry of victory and ran after. He stopped as he recognised the street they were on.  
  
It was the street he lived on.  
  
He stopped attempting to follow the Kid and sprinted for his house, a feeling of foreboding in his gut.  
  
Most creatures, be they human or animal will usually unconsciously return to the place they feel safest at when injured. A part of him had hoped the Kid would lead him back to his lair. But people, especially when injured and hunted, also had a habit of acting irrationally and doing things they normally wouldn't do.   
  
He also knew Aoko was home, most likely asleep by now.  
  
No one gets hurt.  
  
The Kid was injured.  
  
Had the rules changed?  
  
The front door was locked when he rushed up, and he quickly unlocked it, falling into stealth mode as he did so, his gun in his hand.   
  
The house was quiet, peaceful.  
  
Except for the sounds of Aoko shouting at someone in the bathroom. Well, now he knew where the Kid was.  
  
He wasn't sure if he should be proud of his daughter for pinning the thief, or if he should be furious. Aoko was now right between him and the Kid. The Kid couldn't leave with her there, but despite her probable best intentions, he couldn't just barge in and nab the Kid while he could use her as a shield.   
  
But he could keep an eye on her. Nakamori quietly snuck up the stairs as they talked, and was about to peek in the bathroom door when he heard something that made him freeze.   
  
"Did you know I'm planning my retirement from being a thief?"  
  
His daughter summed his feelings perfectly. "You can't retire yet, Dad hasn't caught you!"  
  
The thief? Retire? That was impossible! It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't caught the Kid, but the principal of the thing! He'd been chasing the Kid as a rookie cop, the thief had become a mainstay in his life. To imagine not having the Kid to chase, a goal to pursue, was almost impossible!  
  
"Would you like see why?"  
  
Nakamori blinked. Why? That was a rather funny question. He risked a peek around the door, just in time to see the Kid make a small rock materialise from thin air, tonight's treasure.   
  
Aoko didn't seem all that impressed by it. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't even as if the rock was all that expensive either, it had to be one of the Kid's cheaper thefts.  
  
He watched in tense silence as his daughter 'helped' with a magic trick, his gun in hand, ready to strike at the first false move. The Kid made no strange movements, just placing the rock in his daughter's hand and placing a handkerchief on top. There was a small chant to the count of three, then the handkerchief came off.   
  
As a magic trick, it was rather disappointing. At least until he saw what the Kid had pulled from the heart of the rock.  
  
This stone glowed.   
  
That wasn't a normal stone. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was magical. And from the look on the thief's face, it wasn't glowing because of the Kid's so called magical abilities.  
  
The Kid's face turned melancholy as he made a comment that turned Nakamori's world on his ear.   
  
"They killed my father for it." He said, a depth of sadness in his voice.  
  
Spirits above and below, his Father.  
  
Both his heart and the world seemed to twist and stretch, then pop back into place like an elastic band.   
  
Things suddenly made sense. The Kid's 8 year long disappearance, his sudden re-appearance, the changes in the strategy. It all made sense.   
  
He had just been too caught up in the chase to notice it.   
  
No body gets hurt. No wonder.  
  
Nakamori leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He listened silently as his daughter and the thief continued to talk, and became numb when Aoko started to cry. The Kid consoled her, showing more insight and depth than he had ever given the thief for.   
  
It hurt. It hurt to know that he was the cause of his daughter crying. Anger made him see red for a minute. It was all the Kaito Kid's fault. If the thief wasn't running around, he would have to spend all his time chasing him! It wasn't his fault he wasn't here for his daughter!  
  
Aoko's choked laughter brought a splash of logic to his anger fuzzed brain. Yes, yes it was his fault. Even when the Kid wasn't around, he still didn't spend all that much time with her. He and his daughter hardly knew each other any more, much less talked.  
  
Hell, even the Kid knew more about his daughter than he did!  
  
He barely had enough time to scramble to his bedroom door as Aoko suddenly walked out of the bathroom, the broom clasped in one hand, a tired yet rare peaceful expression on her face. At that moment, she looked so much like her mother, it hurt.   
  
Less than a minute later, she came back, one of her throw pillows tucked under an arm. He waited as she fussed over the thief in the bathtub. Their conversation was short, then Aoko walked back out, heading to the dining room down stairs. He listened as she paused, then headed towards her room and climbed in her bed.   
  
He could hear her breathing slow down and knew she was asleep. There was no noise from the bathroom.  
  
No one gets hurt.  
  
How many people had he hurt inadvertently in his pursuit of the Kid? What else had he missed?  
  
Nakamori suddenly felt very old. Every game had an end, and it was time to end this one. Probably past time. The Kid seemed to be ready, almost happy to. And maybe it was time for him to stop too.  
  
There was more to life than Kid the Phantom. He'd signed on to the police force originally to stop crime and help make a difference. It was probably past time for him to return to that.   
  
With a sigh, he rose and headed for the closet and pulled out a blanket. The Phantom Thief had saved the life of one of his men tonight. One night's safe haven was a small price to pay in return.  
  
He slunk quietly walked into the bathroom, carrying the bundle of fabric in one hand. He paused beside the bathtub, looking down at the slumbering form within it.   
  
It was often said that people looked younger while they slept. And he knew now, on an intellectual level, that the Kid he had been chasing as of late was not the same person that he had chased 20 years ago. But it was still rather jarring to see this Kid, see the small differences that set him apart from the orginal Kid and have it rubbed in his face.  
  
He never was going to catch the Kid. Because the Kid he had been chasing had been dead for 8 years now. He'd been chasing a ghost. An illusive phantom.  
  
And it was time to put this particular ghost to rest.  
  
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he opened the blanket and threw it over the body of the person who had been his adversary for the past few years. As he watched the blanket drape it's self over the Kid's still form, he felt a particular sense of relief, almost like freedom. He had finally caught the Kid. Even if it was for the first and last time.  
  
The Kid stirred, his eyes opening halfway, and blurrily focusing on him. He looked exhausted, yet not surprised to see him. He'd probably known at least part of the time that he was there. Or not. It was hard to tell.   
  
"Inspector-?"  
  
He adopted his normal gruff attitude, scowling and crossing his arms. "Are you really retiring?" He demanded.  
  
Kid nodded a few times, then grimaced, realising that wasn't a good idea. "I'll make you a deal, Inspector." He sat up a little straighter in the tub, but continued to lean on it for support. "If you use the men you caught today to uncover the rest of their organization and I'll make sure you never see hat nor cape of the Kid again."  
  
He studied the boy for a moment. The Kid was sincere, he could tell that much. "What about the monocle?" He asked, unable to resist the jibe.  
  
The boy gingerly touched the glass that covered the side of his face. "I think I'll keep that." He smiled fondly. "It's my good luck charm."  
  
"Aa." He nodded. It was most likely the Kid's fathers, one last gift from the dead. They stared at each other for a moment, the Inspectors face dark and scowling, the thief's face tired yet smiling. Finally Nakamori cleared his throat and motioned toward the blanket.  
  
"This is just for tonight." He growled. "Because you saved my man's life. I want you out of here before daybreak. Without anyone seeing you."  
  
"Not a-" The Kid yawned. "-problem. G'night, Inspector." He curled back up into the tub, pulling the blanket a little higher to cover part of his face as he fell asleep.   
  
Nakamori grunted in reply, then turned leave. He paused for a moment, looking back at the Kid's slumbering form. Except for the faint outline of the top hat hidden in the shadows, the outline under the blankets, the Kid could have been anyone.  
  
Been anyone's son.  
  
With a small click, a vital fact that he had been missing finally snapped into place.   
  
The Kid wasn't just some Phantom Thief. The Kid was human as well.   
  
No one gets hurt.  
  
Because everyone needs to be protected sometimes too.  
  
Fin.  
  
  
  
Um... yeah. Rather disjointed IMHO. Is /hard/ to get into Nakamori's head, he's so thick skulled!  
  
Why a bathtub?   
1: It was going to rain soon, and he needed a place to rest, at least until the rain stopped. So he climbed into the first open window he saw. Not his fault it just happened to the Nakamori's house... ^^;;  
2: Would you really expect to find the Kid hiding in a bathtub? I think not.  
3: The voices just really really liked the mental picture of the Kid asleep in a bathtub. Had that mental pic looooong before we found the fanart that started all this.  
4: Why not?! *rolls with laughter*  
  
'Sympathy for the Devil'  
This comes from Greek mytho, the story of Persephone whom Hades had kidnapped and dragged down to the Underworld. Toward the end of the story, she ends up eating some seeds of a Pomegranate and is rather surprised at the rush of sympathy for Hades, stuck in the underworld and ends up staying with him half of each year, eventually learning to love her dark husband.  
  
The story was orginally going to be called 'Bathtubs, Blankets and Cake', but 'Sympathy for the Devil' kinda fell in there and stuck.   
Primiarly because this ended up being about both the Nakamori seeing the Kid for the first time as a human instead of a faceless deamon that haunts them.  
  
I know there's a Rolling Stones/Mick Jagger song out there of the same name, but I'm going off of what I remember from school. #^^# 


	3. A Cake for a Celebration!!! (Kaitou)

Sympathy for the Devil pt 3:  
  
A Cake for a Celebration  
  
  
"Cakey-su! Cakey-su! Cakey-cakey-cakey-su!" Kaitou hummed merrily to himself as he passed out slices of cake to the individual police officers of the Kaito Kid Task Force.   
  
Well, if he wanted to be technical, 'Yaone' passed out slices of cake to the Kaito Kid Task Force. No one would dare to think that Kid the Phantom Thief would wander around the police department to pass out pastries. Especially not dressed as a girl.  
  
And a damn fine sexy girl he made too, if he said so himself. Which he did as he silently flirted back with a couple of officers. Although Aoko's comment about the Kid being gay still stung a bit, even after how ever long it had been. It wasn't his fault he was believable as a woman. Even if he did take shameless advantage of it.  
  
"Good Afternoon!" He chirped, his voice mimicking a girl's voice flawlessly. He'd been worried for a short time that as he got older, his voice would deepen and he'd loose the ability to imitate the higher ranges. Fortunately that hadn't seemed to have happened. Either that or he used it enough that his voice remained flexible.   
  
The officer he set the slice of cake in front of looked up and smiled. It was Ogata -san, the same officer he had saved the night the Kid had retired. He'd gotten only minor injuries, not enough to really effect his job, Kaitou had been pleased to discover.   
  
He had been stiff and sore for a week after the stunt with the hang glider. That was a painful experience he was in no hurry to repeat. But it was all in the name of being a good Phantom Thief.  
  
Or ex-Phantom Thief.   
  
Whatever.  
  
"Thanks!" Ogata-san took the cake eagerly. "What's this for?"  
  
"They didn't tell me." Kaitou shrugged, flipping a long violet pigtail over a shoulder. "I'm just passing it out."  
  
"Well, thanks anyway!"  
  
"No, Thank you!" He waved and pushed the near-empty cart away. "Have a good day!"  
  
Ogata-san didn't answer, his mouth full of cake.   
  
Kaitou smirked to himself. It was a good thing that he was on Nakamori's side. It would be all too easy to have poisoned the food and passed it out under guise of an intern, such as he was doing now. Ah well. If it worked in his favour, who was he to argue?  
  
He had one last slice of cake left, and one lone police man to give it to. Inspector Nakamori himself.   
  
The good inspector was sitting at his desk, gesturing wildly as he talked to someone on the phone. Kaitou resisted a laugh. He'd seen the exact same gestures and posture before, on Aoko when she was talking to someone whom she thought was obviously being stupid.   
  
He almost pitied whomever was on the other end of the phone. Almost. He'd been on the end of many such said conversations before and knew what they were like. But all it took was a single answer that made sense and it stopped.   
  
Whomever was on the other end of the phone had evidently yet to figure this trick out.  
  
He smiled cheerfully and stopped in front of Nakamori's desk, placing the last slice of cake in an open space on the cluttered desk top. The Inspector absentmindedly nodded a thanks to him, then did a double take. His face grew grim as he excused himself from the phone conversation.   
  
"You!" He hissed, hanging up the phone. "I thought I got rid of you!"  
  
"What would the fun be in that?" Kaitou grinned at him, tapping the monocle which had been arranged as a broach on the front of the collar. "Besides, I said you'd never see hat nor cape of the Kid again. I said nothing about me!"  
  
Nakamori growled sullenly. "I should throw you in jail for harassment of police officers!" He snarled.  
  
"And here I am, delivering you cake from the kindness of my heart!" He mock pouted, pulling out a receipt from a pocket and handing it to the Inspector with small flourish. "See? I even paid for it and everything."  
  
The Inspector gave it a cursorily glance. "What are you up to, Kid?"  
  
"Just checking up on my favourite inspector." He grinned, sitting on the edge of the desk. "Since you never told me what you wanted to celebrate my retirement, I figured I'd bring you cake. Seemed the least I could do. And it gave me an excuse to check up on you."  
  
"All you had to do was check the newspaper to see what I've been doing. Or do you no longer check since you're not in it anymore?" Nakamori asked wirily.  
  
"Oh, I do." He said breezily. "But they've been wrong before. And I must thank you, by the way." He glanced around, then made a newspaper appear with a small *poof!*, the date on it several weeks old. He set it down on the desk, the head line and picture familiar to them both. It was a blurry picture of the Kid, with the head line screaming 'Kid the Phantom Thief -Dead?' across the top.   
  
"I maintain a low profile, the goons stay off my back and you've got credit for putting a stop to the Kid." Kaitou smiled at the older man. "Wouldn't have pegged you for the devious type. Informing the media that it was doubtful I survived was a stroke of genius. Even if they never find a body."  
  
"You're welcome." Nakamori growled. "Now if you're doing gloating, would it be possible for you to leave now before I really do throw you in jail. /Some/ of us have work to do after all."  
  
"Haiiiiiiii!" He sang, bouncing off the desk. He tossed a final careless wink at Nakamori. "Enjoy your cake, Inspector. It's pretty tasty. No Arsenic, poison or artificial ingredients included!"  
  
Nakamori coughed, and looked at the slice of cake like he was waiting for it to grow legs and start crawling over him. Kaitou muffled a giggle and scurried off, disappearing into the busy crowd of officers.   
  
Life was good. Aoko was practically glowing these days, happier than he'd seen her in a long time now that she and her father were talking again. The people who had killed his father thought he had been killed by the fall, or shortly there after, and the majority of them were rapidly finding themselves behind bars due to a relentless Nakamori. And he had more free time to do what he really enjoyed doing, helping people from behind the scenes.  
  
He wondered if Nakamori would figure out that the receipt he'd left was a helpful tip from him, another group of the people they were tracking down.  
  
-Fin-  
  
  
::OUTTAKE!!!:: (This didn't quite make it in, but was too amusing to delete entirely)  
  
"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" Nakamori growled. "-Besides passing out cake and distracting my men?"  
  
"Why, I'm just checking up on my favourite police inspector!" He cheered. It was fun watching the Inspector's face changed colours. "And it's not like I have anything better to do on my Saturday nights anymore." He confided. "Do you think I should try to take over the world?"  
  
"Have you ever considered taking up knitting as a hobby?" Nakamori commented dryly. "I understand it's very relaxing."  
  
  
*** Notes ***  
  
For those who didn't catch it, Yaone is a character from Saiyuki. She's a chemist, and one of Kougaiji's very loyal servants/friends. In one episode, she disguises herself as a bar maid in order to poison the main characters. Or blow up the bar. Y'know. Whatever is needed at the time. *grin*  
  
Ogata was named for Icchan's unlucky assistant in 'Angelic Layer'. "Your punishment is an octopus down your pants for 10 minutes!" ... that guy has the worst luck...   
  
"Cakey-su! Cakey-su! Wai! Wai! Wai!!!" Is Kero-chan's cheer from CardCaptor Sakura when he gets cake. Just one of those things that just sticks in your head and never leaves you alone. Is fun to chant when you get cake too, scares the people who don't know where it's from.   
  
Um... and that's the end. ^^;; 


End file.
